Regiospecific C-H activation is a promising approach to achieve extended polymers with tailored structures. While a recent on-surface synthetic approach has enabled regioselective homocoupling of heteroaromatic molecules, only small oligomers have been achieved. Herein, selective C-H activation for dehydrogenative C-C couplings of hexaazatriphenylene by Scholl reaction is reported for the first time. By combining low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), we revealed the formation of one-dimensional polymers with a double-chain structure. The details of the growth process are rationalized by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, pointing out a cooperative catalytic action of Na and Ag adatoms in steering the C-H selectivity for the polymerization.

• Keywords
• Atomic force microscopy, Cooperative effects, On-surface synthesis, Scanning tunneling microscopy, Surface chemistry,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH